capacitor

/kəˈpæ.sɪ.tə/

//kəˈpæ.sɪ.tə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"capacitor" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“capacitor” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,192. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,192
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An electronic component capable of storing electrical energy in an electric field; especially one consisting of two conductors separated by a dielectric.

Corpus desk

Index EN-capacitor · capacitor · English

capacitor · rank #23,192 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #23,192
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH canteen

Nearest frequency peer: canteen (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “capacitor”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “capacitor” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

capacitor vs capacity
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for capacitor
PropertyValue
Headwordcapacitor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈpæ.sɪ.tə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#23,192
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “capacitor”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).capacitorlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “canteen” (#23,191), “captivating” (#23,193), “Callahan” (#23,190). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “capacitor” is #23,192. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around capacitor (IPA /kəˈpæ.sɪ.tə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,192 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "An electronic component capable of storing electrical energy in an electric field; especially one consisting of two conductors separated by a dielectric.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for capacitor, with forms such as "acpacitor", "caapcitor", and "capaccitor". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "capacity", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From capacity + -or. Capacitor replaced the term condenser (coined by Alessandro Volta in 1782) to disambiguate it from steam condenser. The coiner is unknown but the change was recommended in 1926 by British Standard Glossary of Terms in Electrical Enginee… The correct English form is capacitor, spelled C-A-P-A-C-I-T-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    An electronic component capable of storing electrical energy in an electric field; especially one consisting of two conductors separated by a dielectric.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how capacitor appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. By placing the 0.02μF capacitor on top of the whistle chip, the circuit oscillates at a lower frequency. […] It is possible to pick resistors and capacitors that will make the pitch higher than humans can hear.

Etymology

From capacity + -or. Capacitor replaced the term condenser (coined by Alessandro Volta in 1782) to disambiguate it from steam condenser. The coiner is unknown but the change was recommended in 1926 by British Standard Glossary of Terms in Electrical Engineering.

Synonyms

condenser

This word in other languages

condensador(Español)condensateur(Français)Kondensator(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acpacitor
  • caapcitor
  • capaccitor
  • capaciotr
  • capacitorr
  • capacitro
  • capacittor
  • capactior
  • capaictor
  • capcaitor
  • cappacitor
  • ccapacitor
  • cpaacitor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of capacitor - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

acpacitor2caapcitor2capaccitor1capaciotr2capacitorr1capacitro2capacittor1capactior2
Edit distance from "capacitor"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "capacitor"?
"capacitor" is spelled C-A-P-A-C-I-T-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈpæ.sɪ.tə/.
What does "capacitor" mean?
As a noun, "capacitor" means: An electronic component capable of storing electrical energy in an electric field; especially one consisting of two conductors separated by a dielectric.
What words are commonly confused with "capacitor"?
"capacitor" is commonly confused with "capacity". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "capacitor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "capacitor" is /kəˈpæ.sɪ.tə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "capacitor"?
From capacity + -or. Capacitor replaced the term condenser (coined by Alessandro Volta in 1782) to disambiguate it from steam condenser. The coiner is unknown but the change was recommended in 1926 by British Standard Glossary of Terms in Electric... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "capacitor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chauffeur#23,201circulate#23,204clergyman#23,205clutching#23,208

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

centrist13 variantsbismarck13 variantsanimosity13 variantsconcordia13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list